Out with the old.....

After messing with the carbs(leaking, not running right, etc.), I decided to move on to something better. After talking with Tom Langdon(http://stoveboltengineco.com/), he suggested I upgrade to the Carter/Webber 2bl carbs & upgrade to a HEI ignition. So parts are ordered. Should be here in a few days. Hope that this will get my truck to a solid running/driving state.

:-)

Carb Tuning

Been trying to tune the carbs so they are not running so rich. Well after a couple days of messing with it, I was able to get it to a decent tune, but its not where I want it still. It would appear the return spring on the first carb is not strong enough as it is off by about 1/8 " sometimes. Not all the time, just every now and then causing it to idle high. A couple revs of the motor and it returns to normal.

Here are the pic of the linkage setup:

More Work!

April & May have been busy months for me and the old truck.  Finished Paint on Cab and front, just needs to be polished and waxed. Cleaned Bed and Blasted it. The painted it. Just today I got the bed wood installed, but I have been preping, staining and putting a nice clear coat on the wood since April. All windows are now installed, and the truck is street legal once again!!!! Yesterday was the first long trip I have taken with her, about 50 miles round trip! Was GREAT! Now just got to get the rear fenders installed. They are in bad shape, will take awhile to reshape, weld, patch, putty, and paint. Just hope they turn out well. Will likely wax her in the next week or so.

Looking back.....

This month, marks a year since I started this project. Reading the restore books they all warn about loosing the drive for something like this if you jump into it to fast or are not ready for the amount of work involved. I must say that I honestly thought I would of been driving this truck months ago, but things didn't work out that way. I had my moments after hours and whole weekends spent working on the truck, that I just stopped and looked at it and just thought..."What did I get myself into!". Restoring a truck like this is more work than I ever imagined. Especially if you plan on doing all the work yourself, like I have.

If your thinking about starting a project like this, its very rewarding, and I am almost able to drive my truck finally, but I must warn you... Think about your project long and hard... Read a few books about restores/rebuilds. Add the costs, the man hours, and everything you can think of.... And once your there, times it by at least 5.

I started this project thinking I was going to restore my truck to like new condition. I have had it and thought about it for over 16 years. Half way through I realized that doing a complete restore would take more time and money than I could invest at this stage of my life. Even though my truck is nearing the ability to be road worthy, there are a ton of things I will have to go back and revisit. But as I mentioned above, I have had this truck for over 16 years and its been in my family over 30 years, so no rush to restore, just enjoying the memories this old truck has been centered around.

Brake Issues Solved

Last night I was back out in the shop, determined to resolve the issue with the brakes. This time it was just a simple adjustment of the shoes as my dad suggested. Thanks Dad! Got plenty of brake power now! So it was a line issue, then a wheel cylinder issue, the a shoe alignment issue. Wow, what fun! lol

Did some more paint touch up work last night. Should be ready for a final light sand and buffing. Now I can get started on putting the glass in and accessories on. I was able to get all the shocks on last night as well. Truck feels a lot better. Not so bouncy.

For a side note, I find myself wanting to just get the truck on the road and come back to a lot of the work. Trying my best to resist rushing through a lot of this, but it is hard. :-)

Brake Nightmare's

Another weekend spent working on the brake system. At this point every part has been replaced. I purchased new wheel cylinders and installed them this weekend. I did notice the rear wheel cylinders were leaking when I was pulling stuff apart. After bleeding the brakes for over a hour, I was still getting bubbles. Granted these bubbles were alot smaller and less frequent then before, they were still present.

Giving up on the brakes I installed the front shocks. My 6yr old son was helping alot here, as it took small hands to reach into the frame rail to install the bolts for the new shock mount. Took awhile but we knocked it out as a team. I love having him out there with me like that. Makes me so proud! :-)

After we finished the shocks up front, I put the tires back on and took the truck for a ride. We backed out the driveway and into our road. Backed up the hill a about 50 ft and gave the brakes a test. The brakes are not able to stop the truck, just not that fast. They don't pump up, so air must not be the issue. I believe the brake shoes need to be adjusted out some more is all. Hoping that is the case, as I am getting very burnt out on brake work right now. Need to get that stage done, so I can move on to other things. Have a rack full of parts right now, and another order going thru in a few days.

Spring is here! Getting some work done....

Well first load of parts came in and the tires have been replaced:

 For Tires I went with the 215/75R-15's. I wanted to have the same size tire on all wheels this time around. I think it looks good, but need to wait until I get the bed installed before I make my final comment. :-)

Here are some of the parts I ordered. Alot of misc. type parts. Rubber gaskets, wiper arms/blades, door handles, shocks, seat belts, etc.

 This weekend I was able to complete alot of work on the truck. I rebuilt all the wheel cylinders, installed the new roller bearings on the front, installed the new Choke cable, new shoes on the rear and new wheel seals on the rear. Cleaned out the pumpkin and replaced the oil inside as well. That part was a real mess as it looked like grey mud in there. I also worked for hours bleeding the brakes. The rear bleeds fine, but the front does nothing. I have tried everything I can think of short of pulling the master cylinder from the truck and bench bleeding it. Guess that will be for next weekends work.

Tire/Parts on their way!!

The truck budget wasn't as big as I hoped this year, however I believe I have the parts needed to put Ol'Nellie back on the road! Purchased all new tires on Friday for her. I went with 215/75 R15's with the Aluminum wheels I had from the past. Placed my order with Classic parts earlier this week. Most of the parts will be here on Monday. Since I already had the wheels removed, I went ahead and removed all the drums to inspect the shoes and get ready for the parts coming in. Looks like the front shoes are in good shape still but the rear shoes are completely shot!. One one of the rear shoes, the pad is flaking off! Never seen that, but enough time and exposure to oil's etc, I guess it is possible. Removed the rear end cover as well, as the oil and rear wheel seals need replacement. The oil was mud colored(brown), and came out like puddling. Not cool. So needs to be cleaned out and flushed good as well.

To do list:

Rebuild Wheel Cylinders
Replace Rear shoes
Get Brakes functional
Switch to Roller Bearings in the front
Finish Wiring/lights/turn sig switch
Glass(Windshield)
Seat Belts
Seat Cover

This is the short list to get her on the road. Much more needed down the road. Will update with some more pics soon.

Started Her Up!

Well Spring is here. I just got over a bad respiratory illness, and have been feeling much better. Ol'Nellie has been sitting since November with out running due to the solenoid that quit working. I had also drained the Radiator due to the winter freezes. Today, I picked up a replacement solenoid, installed it, filled the antifreeze/water up, and started her up. Amazing how it doesn't take much to get these girls running again. Probably should of put a squirt of oil down the cylinders, but at the time I was too excited and forgot.

Getting ready to put in this years budgeted order into Classic parts. Got a whole list of goodies to get her on the road. Hoping to have her on the road before summer. Granted there is a ton of work that won't be completed this year, atleast I am able to enjoy driving her again while I finish her out over the next few years.

More posts coming soon.....

Update coming soon

Its been awhile since I have updated the blog, due to holidays, money, etc. Been busy doing the little things, like brake work, etc. Haven't done much though to be honest. Waiting for Income tax time to roll around. Things should pickup fast at that point.

Will post again soon! :-)